Conspiracy Theory
by Forlorn Melody
Summary: How did Terra come back? What happened to Red X after racing Ding Dong Daddy? Seek and you shall find, but you may not like the answer. RobStar and multiple Terra centric pairings. Rated T for mild language and violence.
1. Robin

Melody: Helloooooooooooooo! Welcome to my first Teen Titans fanfic. No worries though, I have written fanfiction before, just not on this subject. This is a 3rd-person limited style, (for the most part) focusing on a single character's thoughts and feelings each chapter. I kind of was inspired by the format of Azelma Roark's Brightline/ Cognitive Dissonance series. Enjoy! And review when you're finished!

* * *

_North America: Jump City, California: Titans Tower: 9:13 p.m._

The room was devoid of any light, except for a single desk lamp. It brought light to newspaper clippings, manila files, pens, and various crumbled papers scattered across the desk and the floor surrounding it. One pencil rattled incessantly against the desk. A green gloved did the rattling, as the lamp light slid up and down its shiny smooth surface. That glove covered a muscular arm connected to a likewise muscular body costumed in tight, red, green, and yellow spandex. Lightweight yet strong, a black and yellow cape hung from the shoulders. Spiky jet black hair rose from the top of a fair skinned head. Masked eyes glared down at a pile of papers on the desk, frustrated.

One of the headlines read "Meet Your Newest Titan", another "Superhuman Ravages Jump", and the one blaring from the freshest article. "So Where Has This Geo-Girl Gone?" Robin wondered the same thing. Ever since she attacked and saved the city, Terra had been stone cold, literally. He and the other Titans had all but given up trying to revive her. Yet, only a few days ago, Beast Boy skipped a criminal chase, claiming that Terra was alive.

Any other excuse wouldn't have been so surprising. Robin could imagine Beast Boy missing leaving the fight to check out new video games at the electronics store, or being distracted by a couple of fan girls…but this? Maybe Beast Boy was so depressed that he had finally lost his mind. It was a definite possibility; Robin was surprised that he and the others hadn't started therapy.

Terra had left deep scars in the minds and hearts of Robin and his teammates. From that point on, the Boy Wonder struggled to trust any new members, especially if they were female. Every new titan seemed to have at least one trait that reminded him of Terra. Whether it was her smile, her laugh, or her boldness, each made Robin think twice. Eventually though, Robin let the benefit of the doubt win him over.

* * *

Robin crouched on his seat, whishing he had used a quieter engine when building the R-Cycle. So far, it didn't matter because _she_ hadn't noticed his presence. The girl walked casually away from the chemical plant, not a good sign. Beast Boy and Cyborg had gone there to take care of Plasmus, and there was no sign of either of them. Worse, Terra had a look on her face like a cat that had just finished eating all the goldfish. He could hear her smug, satisfied voice as she spoke to someone else via a communicator, probably Slade.

"I know. Four Titans down, one to—"The revving of the R-Cycle cut her off. A second later it soared above her head. Terra didn't have a chance to think about it long, for the Boy wonder soon had her tackled. She struggled, but he managed to keep her pinned.

"Do. Not. Move." Robin ordered menacingly.

Terra on the other hand, seemed un-phased. "What's the matter, Robin? Feeling lonely since I exterminated all your friends?" She even smiled! The girl reminded him of one of those crazed residents of Arkham Asylum.

"They were your friends too."

"I don't need any friends." Great, and now she insisted on denial.

"What did we ever do to make you hate us so much?"

"You were born." Terra shot back menacingly. Her eyes glowed an eerie yellow.

Suddenly Robin heard a rumble from beneath him. He saw cracks in the ground, and tensed in anticipation. As expected, Terra threw both of them in opposite directions with her powers. "I promised Beast Boy I'd give you one last chance and this is it!" Robin roared as he charged at the villainess and began throwing punches. Terra dodged the first, managed to block the others, and returned his favor. The Boy Wonder didn't falter; he avoided her blows and threw her away from him. Woah, Terra landed in a crouch. Since when could she do that? Oh right, since she started working for Slade, Robin thought as Terra's kick sent him backwards. A split second later Robin found himself blocking Terra's rain of punches, he grinned as he saw a window of opportunity. His hand locked around her wrist as he threw her against a chain-link fence. Terra's eyes (at least the one Robin could see) widened in shock. _I guess she's not the only one who has surprises. _

The geomancer slammed into the fence face-first. Robin could sense her grimace. He quickly wrenched her arm behind her back. "Look at yourself, Terra! Is this really who you want to be?"

Not surprisingly, Terra didn't back down. Instead she swung her body so she could switch places with Robin. Her words did come as shock to the Boy Wonder. "I'm just never gonna be good enough for you, am I?" She shot back snidely.

Robin didn't back down either, and instead he broke Terra's grip (which he didn't find difficult for the geomancer never had been shaped for hand to hand combat) and flipped away from her. Terra rose on a tower of stone, and the Boy Wonder's eyes widened as he found himself in its shadow. He broke into a run as he saw the rock racing towards him. More of his training kicked in as he hurdled out of the way. His hand darted to his belt and he whisked one of his dics at Terra. Despite her time with Slade, the blonde couldn't dodge it in time, and the disc detonated at her ankles, causing her to fall to the ground. Without Terra to control it, the earth column began to disintegrate, until the geomancer brought them under her control again.

The Boy Wonder thought fast. "You don't belong with Slade."

Terra's eyes narrowed. "You don't know anything about me." She snarled as she threw stones at him.

Again, the geomancer had moved too slowly. Robin charged at her, whiling his bow staff, shattering nearly every rock that came his way. The others he used as stepping stones to deliver a roundhouse kick in Terra's direction. She skidded about fifty yards away on her stomach. Just as she prepared to get up from the ground, she felt the cold hard metal of Robin's Bo staff. "It doesn't have to be this way, Terra! I was Slade's apprentice once. I got out. So can you!"

"I don't need you to save me."

"You can only save yourself." Robin replied solemnly.

This only seemed to make Terra angrier. "I don't need SAVING!" She booted him away from her, broke his staff, and stood on her feet. For the first time that night, Robin actually felt scared. He leaped further away from her, only to see the ground quake beneath him. Looking up again, he met Terra's wild eyes. "I'm not some sad little girl who's waiting to be rescued." Huge cracks traveled through the ground, following equally huge rock formations, to top it all off, dust and wind whirled around the entire thing. "I wanted to be this way. I wanted to go with Slade." The wind ceased blowing. "I wanted to annihilate you and your pathetic friends!" She threw a boulder towards Robin with a turn of her hand. The Teen Wonder managed to avoid its crushing blow, but the force of the impact next to him still sent him reeling. Terra walked towards him as he tried to stand up, and Robin could see a second rock rise out of the corner of his eye. A second later he struggled to catch his breath after the rock knocked it out of him.

Robin met her eyes, and knew he didn't have a chance. He knew he wouldn't make it.

Terra held up both her hands as she stood sneering over him. "And now I never want to see your face again."

* * *

_End Flashback_

Question was…who brought Terra back? Robin dreaded that Slade might have something to do with Terra's return. Yet, why would the Teen Titan's arch enemy bring her back? Revenge? A new diabolical plan involving Geo kinesis? Whatever it was, Robin felt that it might shred his recently duct-taped tranquility. Then again, who said it was Slade that revived Terra? Raven could be right; maybe the affect _did_ wear off. None of the Teen Titan's knew much about Terra's powers, not even Terra herself.

In the end, maybe that was why she became a statue. If the girl had known more about what her powers were capable of, she might have been able to save herself. Instead, Terra must have lost control again while saving the city from that volcano. Rather than increase the eruption's destruction, she must have overdone the cooling process. Cyborg had been working on a cure for months, and apparently Terra beaten them to it. Or someone else did. Robin slammed his fist on the desk. He had to stop thinking about her; there were plenty of other problems he had to worry about. His eyes dragged themselves over to the ever growing stack of files at the other end of the desk.

Though the Teen Titans had managed to defeat the Brotherhood of Evil along with many other villains, the job was still not over. But the latest task didn't ask for teamwork, it required Robin's attention alone. He had to update every single file on every villain they had defeated, and create a few new files. Not to mention Robin had to complete those on top of his normal, daily crime fighting activities. At the top of the stack was Red X's file. It was the first time they'd seen him since he first appeared, yet he did little to alter his relationship to the Boy Wonder. Not that he had much of a chance, racing against Ding Dong Daddy and all. All of it, especially Red X, was enough to give Robin a headache.

* * *

_Flashback _

A lone figure knelt over a large container. One look at him, and the average person would assume that the figure belonged to a clan of ninjas. Robin knew better. In fact, he knew everything about the figure's weapons, attacks, and motives. Only one thing remained a mystery to the Boy Wonder, the identity of the teen behind the suit. The suit that the Boy Wonder used to hide in the depths of Titans Tower now had a new owner, a thief intelligent enough to steal the suit, and stupid enough to wear it as his own.

Red X slid the lid off the canister, and looked down on twenty precious tubes of Xenothium. Unaware of Robin's presence, the cat burglar muttered to himself "I love it when the good guy wins." He reached down into the canister and pulled out one of the tubes of Xenothium. Just as Red X nearly placed his recently stolen tube in with the others, a loud crashing disturbed him. His masked eyes widened in smug surprise as he witnessed a red laser cut through the vault like construction paper. Sliding into a fighting stance, he waited as the vault's door fell to the ground, revealing a furious Boy Wonder, holding a dangerous laser cannon in his arms.

"You're not going to win." Robin released the cannon, and it fell to the floor with a loud _THUNK!_ Roaring, he leaped into a kick, throwing Red X and his prize against the opposite side of the vault.

"Kid, you are taking life way too seriously." The thief chimed as he also charged.

Robin also charged, sure of his goal. He lashed out a fistful of grenades, only to see Red X leaping out of the way of the explosion, throwing X's at him. Nearly frantic, the Boy Wonder dodged some of them, and batted the rest away with his bo-staff. Moving into a fighting stance, Robin closely watched his opponent on the other side of the vault. Red X lifted his hands; unsheathing X shaped blades, and tore through the floor towards Robin. Blocking and dodging the slashes from X's…well x's, the Boy Wonder shoved the thief away from him and gave him a soaring roundhouse kick, that whizzed millimeters above Red X's head. Finally, after several more swings, Robin's bo-staff it its mark, sending the thief to the floor.

Red X didn't stay on the floor long, and he moved his fist slightly, sending one of his x blades into a deadly spin, before moving towards Robin once again. Robin barely dove out of the way in time, and he felt one of the sparks flying off the wall from the x's impact. He kept dodging a little while longer, with Red X proving to be a worthy opponent, especially with all those gadgets. Finally the Boy Wonder saw an opening and went at it with his boot. The theif's chest vaulted away, its red logo catching Robin's eye, and then he shook his head as his bo-staff locked with X's. They found each other staring into each others eyes, and Robin considered the irony of the situation. Neither of them would ever dream of the other romantically, unless of course X turned out to be a gi….no possible way. After the way Red X acted around Starfire….Robin's eyes narrowed.

"Why did you steal the suit? What are you planning to do?"

"Whatever I want." Robin could see the faint line of the thief's grin as Red X knocked him away. _"_Not everybody likes to play the big villain, kid. I'm a thief." His crimson blades slinked back into the stolen suit. _"_I'm not threatening your precious city, just looking out for number one._"_

Robin indicated that he didn't plan on leaving X with that, holding up his metallic bo-staff. "So you're not psychotic. You're just selfish."

The cat burglar snickered. "Lighten up, Chuckles." He held up his hands in mock surrender. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Robin found himself drifting off to his younger years, when Chuckles the Clown hammed it up at the circus. Robin shook his head again, catching the end of Red X's sentence. "…bad guy, once you get to know me."

Robin just barely caught the glimmer of one of x's fired from Red X's palms. Unfortunately, his block to that x shaped shuriken left his legs vulnerable to an x he hadn't seen earlier. Without a noise, Robin fell to the floor, landing on his chin as he heard his bo-staff clattering away. With a focusing breath, Robin looked up, and his eyes widened slightly. He rolled out of the way in time to avoid Red X's boot. The Boy Wonder smiled, knowing he hadn't quite finished his move yet. His roll morphed into a kick, sending Red X into a wall.

Apparently Red X hadn't finished either, at least not with his crime. He flashed over to his prize, the crate of Xenothium, and picked it up. Red X looked over at the Robin, an invisible grin on his face. "Playtime's over, kid." The thief didn't move as Robin held up a birdarang. "Back off-or I trip the power core." Robin looked down at the suit's power belt, at the glowing red x on its buckle. "And the core triggers the rocks. I don't think you want that on your conscience."

Robin raised his birdarang, after he a lowered it not a few moments earlier. "And I don't think you want to be disintegrated."

Red X didn't move from his spot, and didn't notice the shadow looming closer to him. Robin's mask widened. Professor Chang had sent one of his henchmen after them. Inwardly he wondered if Starfire's scream had anything to do with Chang. Hopefully it didn't. The henchman lifted his weapon, a space age trident as Red X finally turned around in time to be blasted in the chest with the same Xenothium that powered his suit. He crumpled to the floor with a loud _THUNK._ Meanwhile the case he once carried thudded next to him.

As the trident aimed itself at Robin, the Boy Wonder froze. In slow motion the ball of red energy flew his direction and hit him in the chest as well. Pain shot through his nerves as the electricity spread all over his body. Robin cried out as he too fell to the floor. He could hear his birdarang clang to the floor next to him, so much for aiming it at Red X. More and more of Chang's henchmen entered the vault, and unsealed the storage cells one after another, filling their own cases with Xenothium. The leader of the Teen Titans tried to rise from his sorry position to stop them, but he hurt too much to move.

At last Robin could move his head. Unfortunately, he could only see the boots of one of the henchman standing in front of him. Tilting up his chin even more, Robin suddenly forgot about his pain. The henchman in front of him held up a lunchbox-shaped portable TV, and set it gently on the ground in front of Robin's face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the henchman leaving the vault, Xenothium in hand.

* * *

His hands massaged his temples, and then moved to his ears when the siren went off. Great, now Robin had _another_ problem to deal with, another criminal to defeat, and another file to update. He'd have to remember to tell Cyborg to buy more aspirin. They'd run out of it last week. Robin noticed, just like he noticed everything else that went on in the Tower, perhaps that's why he always had a headache. With a sigh, he scooted back in his rolling chair and stood up. Moments later Robin had vanished from the room after a flurry of footsteps.

* * *

_North America: Jump City, California: Reid Diamond Mines: 3 weeks earlier: 5:24 p.m._

The place seemed dark, though the sun shined brightly outside, in mid day. So why couldn't he see down here? Though he hadn't been in many mines (he preferred cut gemstones to freshly dug ones) he did know that most miners had the intelligence to at least light their workplace. He stopped and leaned against the tunnel wall. Around him the cave walls seemed rough, even collapsed in some places. Stepping forward, he heard breaking glass, _a lamp,_ he thought, figuring out the mystery of the mines. This place had been longed abandoned.

Thankfully his mask kept most of the musty odors at bay, but some of them snuck through. The darkness, combined with the eerie silence and the smell reminded Red X of a grave. He held back a shiver. Hopefully the idiots he temporarily worked for would realize how stupid this mission was. Like he would find a Titan down here, at least not a live one, and what could they possibly do with a dead body? Red X had no idea, and he didn't care to think of one. Taking a deep breath, he moved on.

Another question popped up in his mind. Why had the miner's left so quickly, leaving most of their tools behind? Red X spotted something metallic in the dirt. Picking it up, and studying an orange and black weapon, he found his answer. _Slade_. If the criminal mastermind had been here at one time, Red X then had a chance of finding his second apprentice there, or what was left of her. He involuntarily shivered. For both their sakes, Red X hoped he found her alive. Then his cell phone rang, eliciting a sigh from the cat burglar. Rolling his eyes, he answered the call.

"Have you found her yet?" A woman's voice asked, oozing with a French accent.

Turning around one final corner, the thief gasped. Red X hardly believed what he saw. _Terra. _Red X stared wide eyed as he answered the question with "I'll have to call you back."

* * *

Melody: Hmm…I'm not sure I'm quite happy about where I ended this chapter…but I wanted to save some of it for the next chapter. And it is a little shorter than what I'm used to writing. shrugs Let me know what you think! And…I'm also working on another fic (not Teen Titan related) so that might slow the updating process. Be warned! 


	2. Starfire

I know that at least 20 people have glanced at the first chapter, but no reviews. What's the problem? My writing isn't _that_ horrible. Review already!

Disclaimer: (because I forgot the first time) I don't own anything, including a car.

* * *

_North America: Jump City, California: Reid Diamond Mines: 3 weeks earlier: 5:31 p.m._

His eyes stared at it, not believing what they saw. Out of all things, Red X didn't expect to find her like this. Question was…could that actually _be_ her? Or did the Titans just leave a life-like statue over her grave? He involuntarily gulped. Red X forced himself forward, and attempted to control his racing heart. Halfway into the cavern, he stopped suddenly. _What the hell is wrong with you? You've been through things much worse than a haunted cave. _Did he just say haunted? The thief swallowed again.

Several agonizing steps later, he arrived at the statue. Slowly Red X lowered two of his fingers to one of the stony shoulders, and then jerked them back, expecting a booby trap coming to kill him. None came. Feeling a little bolder, Red X laid down his fingers, and then his entire hand. Odd, the shoulder felt warm, almost as warm as the skin of a live human being…..He jerked away once more. For a moment he wondered why he was so jumpy. Could she actually still be alive? Red X tapped her head, and backed away slightly. No reaction. Was she stuck there?

He stared at the statue for a few more moments and then shrugged in boredom. Deciding that the cave had been a waste of his time, Red X turned around and checked his belt. His eyes narrowed in confusion. Didn't he just refuel this thing? The xenothium core indicated that he had used enough Xenothium to teleport a short distance. Stupid belt must have been malfunctioning. Red X took a step forward and stopped. A second earlier the cave had been dead silent, but now…he heard a piano playing. Something about the sound seemed extremely distorted, and Red X could barely hear it, as if someone played a piano in a nearby room. Were there _other_ caverns in this place? Of course, there _had_ to be, not all the tunnels had collapsed. But how in the world did a piano end up in an abandoned diamond mine?

Taking a deep breath, Red X turned around. His eyes widened. In the thin, dark air of the cave doll sized figures of glowing dust danced. Red X froze. It sort of reminded him of ballet, but seemed freer than that, almost like ballroom dancing. Unconsciously he found his arms reaching towards one of the pixie couples. Then Red X heard footsteps, life-size footsteps. Glancing back towards the statue, he noticed that he didn't see anything but footprints. Maybe he guessed right about this cave being haunted. He backed away as he noticed the footprints were heading his direction. Twenty feet away the dancing dust suddenly reformed into a life size figure.

Red X stared into the eyes that belonged to _her._ It kind of reminded him of meeting a rock star, only much creepier, yet much more magical at the same time. Like the dancers, glowing dust formed her body. Somehow though, she seemed to glow brighter, making her seem more real. She walked closer and closer, until she stood only a few inches from his face. He felt his heart rate increase. Her face neared his own, too his surprise, but he didn't mind. Terra's golden, sparkling eyes began to close, and then suddenly her face jerked away from his. Then her shoulders slumped, as if something had bummed her out as she glanced back at her granite body. Much to Red X's dismay, the dust of her body exploded and then quickly dimmed as it the statue sucked it back to it.

The thief heard a ringing noise, the high pitched ringing like the kind he had in his ears after a long night of clubbing. Red X turned his slowly, not enjoying the sound too much. His eyes widened like saucers, stretching the eye slits on his mask into circles. Across the cave from him, red cracks streaked down the statue, and then glowed to orange, and then to Terra's signature yellow. He tried to back away, but in vain. A sonic boom roared toward him, throwing him against the far wall of the cave. Then gravity pulled him to the floor.

Catching his breath, Red X turned back towards the statue, and gasped a third time. The statue had crumpled to the ground, and in its place….He punched the teleportation button on his belt. A second later Red X kneeled by her side, and caught her as she crumpled to the ground unconscious. For a brief moment in his arms, Terra opened her deep blue eyes and gazed up at him, studied him with confusion, and then closed her eyes once more. Red X found himself immediately attracted to those eyes. They seemed so deep and complex, more complex than any lock he had ever undone. His eyes drifted over the remainder of her frame, and he frowned. Despite the girl being missing for months, she still had open wounds, covered in dust, and Red X would have to fix that. Pushing the mechanism on his belt, Red X vanished.

Around 15 minutes later, he reappeared at her side, with two first aid kits in his hands. Red X kneeled at her side and popped one of the kits open. Thankfully the girl stayed asleep. She probably wouldn't like the feel of the cleanser. His hands peeled off the remainder of her dirty "bandages." He did his best to wash away all the dirt, and to cleanse her wounds with some peroxide, and yet Red X sensed that his work would be seriously inadequate. Sighing, he took some clean bandages and covered her up again. Then a thought occurred to him. Terra probably needed something different to wear.

Unfortunately, just as he planned to teleport again, his cell phone rang. He opened it and let out a bored sigh, "What now?"

"Have you achieved your objective?" The luscious French accent accused.

Red X stole a look back at Terra before answering. "You know what Rouge? I think I've changed my mind about all this."

"What!? You will regret this betray—"

"Up yours, Rouge." The thief replied playfully as he chucked his cell phone at the cavern wall and followed it with his shuriken. They met with a small explosion, making Red X smile. Then he heard the stirring form next to him. His masked eyes met Terra's own, and this time her eyes didn't fall closed. He found her eyes so enrapturing, that he hardly heard her question.

"Who the heck are you?"

* * *

_North America: Jump City, California: Titans Tower: Present day: 9:13 p.m._

A flash of red and purple raced through the air and down the hall. She had been in her room when the alarm went off. Normally she would have been 'hanging' with her friends in the common room, but tonight she had retreated to her own room for some of the deep thinking. The fight with the Brotherhood of evil left her wondering. It had been the closest anyone had ever come to defeating the Teen Titans, _all_ of them. As they fought, Starfire couldn't help but notice that a few villains hadn't graced the battle with their presence. Starfire could only think of three that she hadn't seen there, but their names and their importance couldn't be ignored, Brother Blood, Slade, and Red X. Of course, the first name didn't surprise her, considering that the Teen Titans defeated him several times. But the last two worried her greatly, what could they have been up to? Nothing good, Starfire knew for certain.

Apparently she'd been thinking a little too much. "Oof!" Starfire called out as she collided with someone else.

"Watch out Star!" Beastboy replied as he dusted himself off and kept running. Thankfully it had been her friend Beastboy, and not her friend Cyborg. Running into Cyborg felt like being thrown into a wall.

(Flashback)

* * *

"Come on, kids." Red X taunted as he pointed to the x on his chest. "X marks the spot." A sonic boom blasted from behind him. Just as it neared his cloaked skin, the thief moved out of its path, and onto a crane. Starfire refused to let him escape that easily, and blasted him with her own starbolts. Unfortunately, he dived out of the way with ease, but ended up in the path of Beastboy. Before the changeling could hit him with his animal fists, the thief vanished. Moments later, as Beastboy and the girls regrouped, Red X reappeared on top of a stack of crates behind them. For a split second, Starfire wondered where Robin had gone off to….

On cue, the Teen Wonder knocked Red X off the stack of crates with a flying tackle. They both toppled over across the concrete, and faced each other from their menacing crouches. Robin didn't waste a second, and threw birdarang in the thief's direction. As Starfire had come to expect, Red X vanished before it could hit his masked face, and the birdarang merely swung back to Robin's hand. He caught it, and heard a familiar buzz behind his ears; Robin dodged the punch aimed at his head. Dropping to the floor, the Teen wonder kicked with both legs at the thief, but Red X managed to use Robin as a launch pad. A flip later, the thief had landed a few feet away from the Teen Wonder, facing him with his masked expression. They fought for a few more moments, and at last dear friend Robin managed to throw the thief against the wall. Even before his brain registered what had happened, the green glove grabbed his jaw.

"Who are you?" Robin snarled.

"If I wanted you to know that, would I be wearing a mask?" The thief retorted tauntingly. His hand grabbed Robin's and crimson electricity ziz-zagged up the Teen Wonder's arm before he could yank it away. Red X landed another punch to Robin's face, sending him into a wall of crates. Starfire's eyes widened, the collision had smashed nearly all the crates! Nearby Cyborg and Raven rushed towards the thief, and the thief readied his weaponed palms. "Azarath Metrion—"Raven started chanting…..Red X leaped between her and Cyborg, and used his suit to cross the power from the girl and the robot. They crumpled to the ground, filling the room with black and blue light, some of which landed on Red X's face.

"Looks like you got your wires crossed."The thief remarked nonchalantly.

Starfire's eyes narrowed angrily. Her fists lit up like nuclear waste, and threw starbolts in the Red X's direction. The thief flipped and dodged from the alien's flying charge. He touched his hands together, and fired a large X in reply. Seeing it, Starfire froze, only to be thrown against the wall by the man-sized X. Its corners stuck to the wall, pinning the alien there. She struggled, but the X wouldn't budge. Red X approached slowly, giving her a nice long once over as he did. "You know, cutie..." Lifting a finger to tilt Starfire's chin towards his, he continued. "…the only crime here is that you and I haven't gone out on a--"

_BAM!!_

* * *

(End Flashback)

She continued flying. The thought occurred to her that the hallways in Titans Tower seemed a little too long, if she could space out for a few moments and still not have reached the meeting room. Why had she been doing so much of "the thinking" lately anyway? Deep inside, Starfire knew why. Beastboy had been right; things had changed since the Teen Titans returned from Paris. As nice as it was to have so many new Titans, and in turn, friends, Starfire couldn't help but feel lonely. Robin had been withdrawing to his room nearly everyday, when he should have been relaxing with his friends, with _her. _

Starfire wished he wouldn't be so introverted around his friends, especially her. He especially shouldn't be now, since they had gone public with their couple status in Tokyo. Though the experience in Tokyo brought them closer together, Starfire felt more alone now than before. An air of expectancy hovered between them, and the pressure threatened to crush both of them. If only…if only…Starfire collided with the floor. She really shouldn't be thinking about such saddening things, it only caused her more pain. Half expecting someone to check on her, Starfire found it surprising when no one did. Perhaps they all had already arrived to the meeting room.

She sped up slightly, settling for walking instead flying. Starfire focused on her feet making footfalls across the floor, trying to calm her emotions. For some reason, touching the earth made her feel calm, calm enough to focus. Hopefully she could focus before she arrived at the main room of the Tower, before Robin would be briefing them on their latest mission. _Robin…_ Sighing, Starfire realized she thought about him too much. Her knorfka always said it could be unhealthy to think about someone so much. But why did it feel so good to think about Robin, to dream about him, fantasize about him? Oh right….they technically counted as roommates or something. Roommates hung out together, and didn't obsess about each other or something like that.

But the others did. Starfire could see it in their faces and the tone in their voices when their minds had unceremoniously slipped into dreamland, thinking about the what-ifs and the could-have-been. Beastboy did it the most. She saw him do it practically every day, mostly at breakfast. For some reason, eating tofu reminded him of her. As soon as the tofu eggs hit his mouth, Beastboy's eyes stared ahead, penetrating the walls of the tower, the bay, until finally the imaginary x-ray vision reached the walls of Murikami High School.

One day, Starfire had caught him lingering on the sidewalk, when they were doing "the hanging out." Beastboy had always been one that _always_ enjoyed life to his fullest, and little things like stopping on sidewalks in front of school buildings seemed trivial. Why wait there when he knew his fan girls waited for him downtown? Glancing at the wrought-iron fence, Starfire immediately recognized what it was that made him stop, _who_ it was. Her. Terra. The blonde geomancer whose life ended in heroic tragedy; whose life should have stayed ended. It hurt Beastboy to see her alive again, and yet, be unable to do anything about it. He had told them everything. Terra didn't remember any of them. The Teen Titans meant nothing more to her than a bunch of heroes.

But…they should mean more than that. Terra fought with them, trained with them, _lived_ with them. They had been friends, close friends, almost family. All those memories, all those great times she had with them, didn't exist to her any more. As far as Starfire knew, Terra didn't even remember her time before the Titans. Living, traveling all over world, the color red, it meant nothing. Her past, as a hero, had been made obsolete.

(Flashback)

* * *

She brushed the dust from her hands like flying on rocks meant nothing more than walking down the sidewalk or eating macaroni and cheese. A piece of the rock she stood on broke off, with her with it, all because a small wave of her hand. It lifted her gracefully into the air, and….did Starfire see her hands glowing like the sun? Seconds later the boulder had carried her to the cliff Titans stood on. As they watched with both awe and skepticism, the girl jumped toward them, and the rock fell into the canyon.

"What? Haven't you guys ever seen a superhero before?" She asked, a proud, nearly cocky smile beaming from her face. They stared back, not knowing what to say.

Finally Robin stepped toward her. "I'm Robin," He began, holding out his hand to shake hers. "We're the—"

Rather than shake his hand, Terra bumped it with her fist. "—Teen Titans! Rock on! It's cool to meet you guys. I'm Terra and you're Cyborg, Raven, Starfire…and…."

Beastboy's eyes lit up when he realized that she addressed him. Unfortunately, his tongue couldn't keep up with his most likely swarming thoughts. "Boy Beast...uh…I mean…Bass Boot!...No!" He squealed in frustration. It made Starfire stifle her giggles.

"Beast Boy?" Terra filled in, her eyebrows rising playfully. She burst out laughing at Beastboy's startled reaction. "Dude! He's hilarious!"

Beastboy's reptilian form finally stopped spinning as his poked out his head from the shell. "Me? Really?"

Terra winked playfully in response. He blinked, and to Starfire's delight, staggered at the sight of her. Beastboy most definitely had the _feelings_. Though as much as the Tameranean loved to watch the two of them interact, curiosity of the new girl got to her. "Curiosity abounds. Please, Wheredoyoucomefrom;howdidyougethere;whatisyourfavoritecolor; do you wish to be my friend?" She asked in one breath.

"Um….Earth, walked, red, and….sure." The girl responded with a slightly bewildered look on her face.

Starfire gasped in delight, as she gave Terra one of her trademark bear hugs. Once again, it seemed to leave a mark. Hm…humans didn't seem to have as much resilience towards that sort of thing. Oh well. She would get 'the hang' of it eventually.

The alien could hear joints popping as the girl gave a pained, but genuine smile. "How's it going?" Terra managed to rasp out.

* * *

(End Flashback)

Terra was….._normal_ now. The word soured on Starfire's tongue like spoiled zorka berries. But she shouldn't be forgetful of her times as a hero. They were friends! Best friends! Now Starfire could understand how Beastboy felt. But the _reckmas_ had already come between them. If only things could return to the way they were, before it was too late. But was it too late already?

* * *

Meh, I deviated from my usual "no passive verbs rule" in the last section. But I couldn't help it, Starfire seems to think that way in my opinion, so there's my lazy, exhausted excuse. Savvy? Anyway, review please. Reviews repair my college-study-torn mind. 


	3. Cyborg

Melody: Wow, thanks guys. I like the positive feedback I'm getting. Sorry if I sounded a bit….demanding in the last A/N on the last chapter. Reviews are my crack. I get rather…um…mean without them. I also sort of had an epiphany; I don't have a Teen Titans fan base built up like I do in my Digimon fics. I'll try to be patient, but reviews are very much appreciated!

Writer's Applause: Thanks to Moon Comix and TTFAN for their input!

Teen Titans: Conspiracy Theory: Chapter 3: Cyborg

* * *

_North America: Jump City, California: Titans Tower: Present day: 9:19 p.m._

They stood in the meeting room, giving each other somber looks as they noticed who resided on the screen. It depicted the _Thing. _The thing they couldn't even name, or accurately describe for long, as it always changed the moment it found a useful substance to imitate. For days it had ravaged Jump City, tearing it apart like a kid who couldn't find his favorite teddy bear. Despite the Teen Titans recent victory over the Brotherhood of Evil, for some reason they couldn't beat a….blob? A robot? A monster? Cyborg narrowed his eyes. None of the others understood, or could understand his frustration over their latest….well….it technically hadn't committed any jail-worthy crimes, but it had attacked them, and destroyed some things...which didn't matter too much. Anyone or anything that messed with Cyborg's hometown messed with him. 

When he thought about it some more, Cyborg realized he had gotten off lucky. That thing hadn't attacked his car yet….knock on steel. He never had figured out why, but his T-Car always proved to be a popular target for criminals, villains, and dangerously bored teenagers. They could vandalize other cars with much ease, but no…they had to hurt the T-Car. Cyborg had lost count of how many times he had repaired, refurnished, and rebuilt that car. Did Robin's R-Cycle ever get trashed? Nope. Never. Of course, the R-cycle did make a smaller target, but shouldn't it have been a more obvious one? Red, yellow, and green all shining as brightly as a traffic signal? Didn't Robin have a more entertaining temper? Smirking, Cyborg realized that maybe the Boy Wonder didn't after all. 

Then again, Cyborg frequently found himself biting back laughter or a knowing smile. He never bothered with it when it came to Beastboy; the green-bean never minded his teasing much. Robin on the other hand…well, Cyborg just didn't think it right to question his leadership, even if in jest, unless the Boy Wonder actually needed it. On some cases Robin went crazy with the drive to capture whoever. At first it had been Slade. Something about the one-eyed psychopath pushed on Robin's nerves…a lot. Maybe he felt that way because no victory over Slade actually felt like a complete victory. Slade had a way of saying the one thing Robin didn't want to hear, or selling his soul to gain back the life he should have lost. In the end, maybe the Titans had never actually won against Slade, because the madman always came back. 

So did Terra. The half-robot remembered when Beastboy first broke the news to his teammates. It just…didn't compute well. Those that turned into granite statues didn't, _couldn't _change back, could they? Slade fell into a pit of lava, and he somehow managed to return, in peak physical condition. If Cyborg could shiver, he would. Instead, his internal thermostat instantaneously converted some food into fuel, fuel into energy, and energy into heat. He wiped 

the sweat off his brow. At first the hybrid instincts of his body unnerved him, and then annoyed him, but after a long while he became accustomed to them.

Cyborg had tried every chemical combination he could think of. He and Raven both looked through every book they could find on stone statues and people. Heck, they had even read _Metamorphoses _by Ovid for a clue. Unless there Venus actually existed as the goddess of love, Terra wouldn't come back. Besides…all the Greek implications would wreak havoc that Cyborg would rather not see. Terra could wreak a lot of havoc though, with those powers of hers. Awe inspiring, really, and they terrified Cyborg sometimes too. The Titans had been lucky that she had turned on Slade at the last second, and sacrificed herself for them. That girl could destroy the planet if she wanted…like the way she had totaled the t-car…Cyborg felt his half-robotic body warming him again….

* * *

(flashback)

They rode in the T-car through Jump City, with him at the wheel. It seemed like a typical day, the Teen Titans returning after a spur of the moment trip to the pizza place. Robin sat contently in the front seat, while Starfire and Raven had to fend for themselves in the back, with Beastboy in the middle. As usual, Raven glared longingly out the window while Starfire stayed cheerful as usual, and Beastboy let off his arsenal of terrible jokes. 

"Okay, okay, I got one. Why are ducks so funny? Because they're always quacking jokes!" He laughed loudly, while Cyborg and Robin groaned, rolling their eyes. 

Raven glowered out the window. "Pull over. I think I'm gonna be sick."

Beastboy shot her a dirty look.

Starfire blinked in confusion…and then she smiled knowingly. "Oh, I see! It is humorous because ducks lack the large brain necessary for the telling of jokes." She concluding, stifling giggles. 

Robin sweat dropped, but the three in the backseat couldn't see him do so. "Actually, Starfire, it just wasn't humorous."

"Huh?" The changeling muttered, a little confused. 

Raven's expression didn't waver. "Because Beastboy lacks the large brain necessary for telling jokes."

His smile came back full force, instead of dissipating into a frown. He leaned dangerously close, daring her to smack him with a forceful of dark energy. "Come on, Raven, you know I'm hilarious. And I'm not gonna give up until I get you to smile._" _Allowing for a dramatic pause, he continued. "Okay. Why did the aardvark cross the road?"

The light at the intersection ahead of them turned red. Cyborg rolled the T-car to a stop as he waited for the light to change. Hopefully it wouldn't be long.

Raven's voice had an annoyed quality to it as she gave him his answer. "To beat up the idiot telling jokes about him?"

Robin and Cyborg burst out laughing. They glanced briefly at each other, smiling. The robot chuckled. "The idiot telling the jokes..." 

"Now that's funny." The Boy Wonder added, leaning back against his seat with a smile. 

Starfire's brows wrinkled in confusion. "Please. An aardvark is some form of duck?"

Beastboy groaned in frustration as the stop light switched from red to green. As always, Cyborg took his foot off the break and gently pressed on the gas, his eyes straight ahead. The T-Car gradually accelerated forward and came to an abrupt stop as a boulder crashed violently into its side. Cyborg's beloved tumbled over and over, its windows cracking and rubber cooking as it landed upside down. Seconds later a green glow outlined the vehicle, and a green starbolt blasted the rear left passenger side door away. Before anyone could escape the danger, the engine exploded, casting smoldering debris in all four directions. 

Starfire climbed out of the wreckage, groaning and rubbing her head. Cyborg opened what was left of his door next, and stepped out. The moment the half-robot let go of the door, it fell off its hinges, startling the two Titans. Their teammates emerged from the other end of the T-car. They met each other's eyes, but Cyborg looked towards the source of the chaos when he noticed the horror in Beastboy's eyes. Wanting to say something, the half-robot found his human voice failing him.

Beastboy on the other hand, didn't have such trouble. "Terra?" The syllables tumbled from his lips, barely able to communicate the shock racking his senses. 

The geomancer seemed calmer than a soccer mom after soccer season. She stood a few meters away, swathed in the dust and smoke of her destruction slowly clearing away from her. Terra smiled. "Hey, guys. Miss me?" Her smile morphed into a determined frown as she lifted her hands and moved them towards her former teammates and small rocks and pieces of pavement followed her bidding, racing towards the Titans. 

They quickly moved out of the way, leaving the T-car vulnerable to the attack. Cyborg watched Terra battered the poor car beyond repair, and glanced over in time to see his green friend duck behind a rock that had previously tried to squash him. His mouth formed a small 'o' as he muttered "Huh?" Beastboy turned as a bolder whizzed past him and dropped to the earth, crushing the T-car flat.

* * *

(End Flashback)

"…with Beastboy around this time it shouldn't be too hard to apprehend this criminal." Robin finished as Cyborg caught on to the tail end of his sentence. 

The changeling in question paced up to the screen staring at it closely. "You sure? What can I do to this thing that you guys can't?" He found his answer in the awkward but hopeful stares coming toward him from around the room. Beastboy swallowed. 

Cyborg laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey man, it'll be alright. We could use the extra green hands."

Beastboy's face fell, not feeling too comforted. He sighed. "I guess we better go catch this guy then." 

They ran downstairs, to the garage, and to the T-Car. As they did, Cyborg thought more on the identity of the creature. It didn't make sense. What was it? _Who was it? _Then again, he didn't know why he cared so much about the whole thing. The Teen Titans had faced bigger enigmas in the past, Slade and Terra to name a few. But no one fit the role of mysterious criminal and ally as Red X.

* * *

(Flashback)

"But who is he?" He asked perplexed. The Titans stood in the living room that often doubled as an operations center for Titans Tower. Before Cyborg and the others, the main screen/window displayed several pictures of a certain masked thief. I mean, if Robin's the ex-Red X, who's the new guy?"

Cyborg found himself shoved out of the way by a dry-erase board. He turned around in time to see the crazed spin of the board and the green imp behind it. When the dry-erase board finally ceased spinning, Cyborg blinked at all the doodles and arrows, and Beastboy's easily recognizable handwriting. Among all the doodles, the half-robot recognized them as Beastboy's typical sci-fi-ish conspiracy theories, one visually accurate sketch depicted Red X's mask. 

The changeling's squeaky voice interrupted Cyborg's inner evaluation. "Okay. If he's not Robin's evil twin, then he's obviously a bionic monkey infused with Robin's DNA."

Judging by the looks on Raven and Starfire's faces, they believed it as much as his own analytical nature did. A former honor-roll all-star athlete didn't buy into that kind of thing. The empath's hand darkened quickly until her hands outlined themselves with a thread of grey light. Raven's hand reached out behind Beastboy, sending out a short blast of dark energy, sending both the green teen and the board spinning. Items in the kitchen flew in all directions from Beastboy's abrupt reacquaintance with the kitchen. 

"Face it. Red X could be anyone. Anyone smart enough to find the suit and dumb enough to take it for a joyride." 

* * *

_North America: Jump City, California: Reid Diamond Mines: 3 weeks earlier: 6:03 p.m._

They had sat there for several minutes in silence, until the blonde had tired of waiting for his answer to her question. Now that the fatigue had faded from her senses, in fact she felt like she had just chugged a Rockstar, Terra had more important things on her mind. The black-clad thief could follow her if he wanted. She stood up, and waited for the blood to stop roaring in her ears. Glancing about the cave, Terra blinked. Nothing looked the same anymore. How on earth was she supposed to find it now? 

_Duh, Blondie, the same way you always do, _she told herself. Terra knelt down toward the earth, and touched it with the palms of both her hands. Her eyes closed and her breathing slowed to a near-sleeping level. Ever so softly, Terra could feel the thrumming of earth's energy and followed the echoes until she found hollow wall. There. Then the thrumming grew until it nearly 

drowned her senses and Terra quickly broke contact. She couldn't dare lose control this time. One cave-in and she wouldn't have a chance at revival.

Turning her head, she glanced back at Red X, the mysterious figure she woke up next to. He hadn't uttered a single syllable in a while…and it made her feel nervous. Right now though, she didn't have to deal with him…or how she felt about him. She had already made that mistake before with a different boy, and safe to say it nearly killed her twice. Taking a deep breath, Terra held out her hand. The energy moved from the center of her palm and traveled quickly until her whole had glowed like a soft light bulb. A short distance away, the glow mirrored on the wall of the cave. Terra swallowed, and painstakingly curled her fingers into a fist, and the wall crumbled. 

A hole stood in the rock's place, revealing a room previously hidden by cooled magma. She stepped through the cavity in the wall, walking down a hallway, ignoring the footsteps behind her. Terra past countless doors and cabinets of dubious origin, her head didn't turn to heed any of them. Together, her and X's footsteps almost created a rhythm, if they both could actually keep a beat. The sound of their awkward symphony abruptly ceased when Terra came to the umpteenth piece of storage furniture. 

Her eyes narrowed, noticing the padlock sealing the featured cabinet shut. Terra's hair whipped around as she suddenly met the thief's masked gaze. "Think you can pick it for me?" She asked coolly.

"…Sure." X replied as he pulled a lock pick from a hidden fold in his glove. 

The lock fell to the ground with a thunk. Terra carefully opened the cabinet and quickly took inventory of the contents. She breathed a sigh of relief as she grabbed her most precious possession…her only possession, her blue backpack. Painstakingly Terra slid the straps onto her shoulders, strangely comforted by the weight. Starting in the direction from which she came, Terra stopped. One strap slid down her shoulder, carrying the backpack in the same direction. With the same care used to pick up the backpack, Terra undid the zipper. Her lip tightened as her hand dipped inside. It swished around and slowly surfaced from the backpack. In her hand hung a t-shirt, black as night and yellow shorts as bright as the sun. 

She turned to her right, and realized X had been staring at her. The corner of her lip turned down, and her eyes narrowed slightly. Taken aback, the thief turned around so she could change. It still felt awkward, even though she could turn her head every so often and make sure he wasn't staring. After a few agonizing seconds, Terra picked up her backpack and tapped X on the shoulder. "Hey, do you have a car?"

He blinked, the slits on his mask nearly vanishing. "…Not exactly."

* * *

Melody: Ah, another chapter finished. Ever have one of those moments where you know you've ended something exactly where you wanted to? Yeah, it's one of those. I'll be in Israel for 10 days, not like that'll make any noticeable difference in my updating rate. Sorry for the slowness, school's been exhausting lately. 

Now that you've obviously read this chapter, please drop a review into the proverbial box and let me know what you thought of it. Heck, I'm so low on review-withdrawal I'll accept those "please update so0n" things. 


	4. Raven

Back from Israel, and I totally enjoyed the trip, sans the cross-country flights. Why can't the whole plane look like first class? Hm…sounds like a philosophical question, which has nothing to do with this story, explicitly.

Writers Applause: Thanks to Protector of Cannon, for being the first reader to review this story more than once.

Disclaimer: If Forlorn Melody owned Teen Titans, there would be more than 5 seasons, or at least another movie, sadly she only has a laptop named Bushido from which she can dominate the planet.

* * *

Teen Titans: Conspiracy Theory: Chapter 4: Raven

_North America: Jump City, California, USA: Robert Kane Memorial Building: Searchers Inc: 3 Weeks Earlier: 7: 23 a.m._

They moved swiftly, moving past all the front desks, the receptionists, the secretaries, and the protocols. A couple of times guards stopped them, along with the people in light grey uniforms, but they stepped back after seeing Terra. Red X kept his hand on his belt at all times, this building making him feel exposed and naked. Why did there have to be so many mirrors? It reminded him of an interrogation room he had been in the _one _time he had been caught. The time Robin locked him in the xinothium vault didn't count.

His masked face met the top of Terra's head, throwing him out of his thoughts. Red X looked forward, his eyes narrowing at the view in front of them. One could see half the city and the bay from here. _What _was this place? A voice coughed for their attention.

It belonged to a girl sitting in a desk much too big for her. X wondered how much bigger the desk would be behind those doors as he glanced at the gold name plate hung on them. The doors opened automatically, and the odd couple stepped inside the office. As they did, the thief couldn't help but gape in awe, thankful for the privacy his mask gave him.

He had stolen artwork from buildings like these. On the scale of places difficult to smuggle things from, office buildings fell towards the bottom. Homes on the other hand, typically had more challenging security systems, depending on the wealth of the owner and the artwork within. Getting into them provided little challenge to a thief such as X, and anyone knew getting away from a heist with the prize in his hand supplied the real thrill.

"Hello Tara. It's _nice_ to see you again." _Another _female voice greeted. Red X half expected a man to be sitting in the desk to the right of them, because of the secretary. Only hormonal men in the midst their mid-life crisises had female secretaries young enough to be their children, right? That lady's voice though, it sounded familiar, slithering out of her pursed lips soft ice-cream, cold like it too.

Just in front of X, Terra bristled. Her voice nearly matched the woman's tone, but kept some of its warmth. "Wish I could say the same to you, Ms. Kane." Out of the corner of his eye, Red X caught Terra clenching her fists.

Kane tilted her head to the side, her eyes bright but cold. "Oh Tara, you know you can call me Adeline."

The way she pronounced Terra's name, _Tahrah_, it sounded weird. Names like that didn't fit girls like Terra, they belonged to foreign girls, rich girls, royal girls he used to steal from. "It's T_ehrra_." She replied, folding her arms.

"Who's your friend?"

Terra gave him a weird look as she turned her eyes to meet his. "He's not really my…"

"Red X." The thief stated simply, injecting himself into their conversation.

"Mm." Adeline replied contemplatively.

Thick silence ensued as the blonde stiffened. Soon enough the tension between the two females bored him, and Red X began looking about the room. Magritte's and Dali's work; hm, Adeline Kane had a taste for creepy surrealistic art. That one on the left wall would go for a comfortable fortune, and maybe the thief could milk a little more out of the buyer. But that Dali…looked a lot like an original print, but a professional like Kane wouldn't have an original like that would she? What sort of professional _was _she?

His eyes found Kane's again as he noticed how far Terra's voice had risen in the past moments. "I already told you, I _quit." _The blonde nearly shouted, though X couldn't see the need to, since Adeline hadn't lost her calm, and no other sound could be heard. Even the fluorescent lights didn't make white noise.

"You wouldn't abandon me, would you? Your _job _isn't over Terra." Adeline replied firmly.

"I didn't sign up for this for _you. _I did it for—"

X heard the sound of the door swishing behind them. He turned around, surprised, as did Terra. Adeline's latest visitor walked in casually, surprised to see X, but he stared at Terra. She gaped back, and then smiled at the other blonde. His bright green eyes smiled back, through long curly locks.

"Hey Joey, how's it going?"

* * *

_North America: Jump City, California: T-Car: Present day: 9:32 p.m._

Cyborg's most prized possession rounded Jump City's streets like a police officer with road rage. If only their suspect drove a car. The half-robot had to change speeds constantly, for their latest chase seemed impossible to track. It could not only change speed, it could change _form. _Because of this _slight _inconvenience, Cyborg couldn't track it unless they spotted it first, and he didn't see the point to that. Raven could sense it, if it had a soul with emotions, but it didn't. So far Starfire didn't seem allergic to it, so she couldn't help much either, and neither could Robin, except for his detective skills. Beastboy might be able to smell it, but he hadn't had the chance to yet. They kept their eyes open, with the changeling checking the back, Raven taking the right, Starfire the left, and Robin and Cyborg focusing ahead.

So far, nothing. Raven blinked, her eyes not wanting to focus anymore. Mentally she repeated her chant, expecting it to help. It did, more than she expected. She witnessed the eagle logo on the mail-delivery truck moving forward, when the vehicle stayed parked…"STOP THE CAR!."

The T-Car swerved and bucked like a shark in an underwater rodeo as Cyborg slammed his robotic foot on the brake. Just as they began to open the doors, something hit the windshield.

(flashback)

From her vantage point in the driver's seat, Raven viewed a streak of dark shadow slice open a sunroof and fall inside a blindingly pink limo. She didn't hear anything, but blinked as she saw a red buzz-saw coming up through the sides and then the roof of the vehicle. Moments later the limo skidded across the highway in two halves. Control Freak's giant remote revved ahead of the wreckage screaming across the asphalt. Unfortunately for him, Red X decided to make him his next victim. Raven watched with a smirk as the thief landed on the hood of the geek's car and proceeded to stick it with sticky xenothium. His other hand flew towards Mod Mod's auto-version of Big Ben, vaulting into the air as the two vehicles rammed into one another. Forcefully intertwined in a dangerous twirl, the two cars headed off-road in a huge cloud of dust.

Next in line rode a rather fast top hat, one nearly as tall as the bus with Mumbo at the driver's "seat." Red X landed on the brim, slamming his trade mark on it before cart wheeling off the rest of the cars. Raven blinked as the explosion in Mumbo's "hat" dominoed the remaining racers, save two, meanwhile the thief had winked out of the metallic carnage. He winked back onto the lens of Gizmo's…whatever it was, Raven knew it moved, and he drove it, so automatically she thought of it as an over-glorified car. The pipsqueak mechanic stared at him wide-eyed.

Seemingly in reply to the question asked by the H.I.V.E operative, X replied. "Mine!" His gloved hand slammed violently against the glass paneling, and fell backward, leaving a huge X in his place. The ensuing explosion sent Gizmo skidding across the asphalt in the surviving window his wrecked car. "Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud!"

After an umpteenth leap, Red X landed on the bus Raven happened to be driving. Starfire rode sat in the chair by her side, with all the passed-out villains keeping them company in the back of the bus. Finally, after all that time in that stupid "Henchi" disguise that Starfire had come up with, Raven finally felt free, save one minor annoyance, being startled by a certain cat-burglar. Red X hanged upside down in their windshield, the near cocky skull plastered on his mask as always. In the faint outline the sunlight gave his face, Raven could have sworn she saw a determined grin.

"Eek!" Starfire jumped back a few feet, her eyes wide.

Raven found a gasp slipping from her mouth as well, but her attention happened to be focused on Red X's eyebrow, which had just raised itself in puzzlement. She raised her hand, balling it in a fist threateningly, a shimmer of shadow began to swath around it. "Need a lift?"

X dropped to the hood, looking at both of them through the windshield. Though it was a bit muffled by the glass, Raven heard him say, "Tell Robin we're even… for now."

(End Flashback)

* * *

Ugh. Raven hated….whatever it was. Stupid, _thing. _Its irregular form, like a picture drawn by a child, hunched on the hood of the T-Car...looking back and forth at the Titans…as if it were _scanning _them. It shook, focusing on Beastboy, seemingly unable to get across what it wanted to. Instead of _normal _communication, it charged him, ramming the changeling backward a moment before Beastboy reacted. His form contorted, shrinking impossibly at first, and then growing faster than a leak in a dam. Now a gorilla, Beastboy worked to push the Thing back. They struggled against each other, with the changeling gritting his teeth, and the…other changeling narrowing its eyes. If gorillas could sweat, Raven swore Beastboy would right then.

Without warning the Thing let go of the green gorilla's fists, running and leaping past him. The green gorilla started to fall over, before catching himself and changing back into himself. Beastboy blinked. Robin narrowed his eyes, as did Raven. "Titans, GO!"

Finding the cry energizing, Raven gave chase, levitating and gliding through the air. Her eyes narrowed beneath her hood as she focused on the creature. It wouldn't escape her this time. Black negative energy simmered from her hands, both of them barely visible from underneath her cloak. Azarath. Metrion. Zinth--

The creature had stopped suddenly, and Raven hardly caught herself before nearly running into him. It froze, staring to its right. Instinctively the empath reached out for its aura, only to remember that it had no aura to speak of. She heard a small gasp coming from the side of her, a few feet below. _Beastboy. _Before she could react, Raven saw him zip out of from view, chasing after something as a cheetah. Or, Raven realized, a _someone. _

She felt her muscles tense as she caught a glimpse of blonde hair. A flood of emotions caught her surprise, most of them her own. Whispering under her breath, Raven worked to calm them, if only for a moment. Voices, sounding much like her own, crowed her thoughts. _Traitor. Stick. Skank. _Raven whispered her mantra again before worse names popped into her brain. When Raven connected with reality again, Beastboy had already run several blocks down the way, chasing after Terra, the creature gaining on both of them. The empath didn't need to look at Robin, she could already sense that he was about to use his trademark command. "Titans GO!"  
She shot out, levitating forward, almost flying like Starfire did, almost.

They passed through the city single file, Terra managing to outpace the creature and Beastboy, who had morphed into a bird to avoid a cheetah's sprinting exhaustion. Raven and Starfire flew behind them, their gazes narrowed in anticipation. Cyborg and Robin roared at the rear, on their respective T-car and R-cycle. Finally they stopped in the dessert, watching from a barricade of police cars.

The Titans weren't the only ones. A small mass of people had gathered to watch the spectacle. They stared wide-eyed as a girl in a school uniform marched toward a massively ugly colorless creature.

(Flashback)

* * *

Raven's eyes widened as she saw the mud parting into foot-print sized gaps as steel toe boots traversed across it. Numbing her emotions, the empath glanced up at her now foe. Her indigo eyes met sneering blue ones.

"Does the word _decoy_ mean anything to you?" Terra taunted as Raven watched Overload slip away out of the corner of her eye. "We had to find some way to _coax_ you out of hiding."

The empath suppressed a demonic growl as she channeled the dark emotional energy to her hands. "Terra." She voiced firmly.

"Raven." Terra replied snidely…and coldly, Raven realized. She really had changed, or the blonde had her completely fooled before.

"Traitor."

"Witch." Terra's eyes glowed dangerously yellow.

Mud shot vertically, drying enough for Terra to stand on long enough to jump free, and Raven rose up (literally) to the challenge. Together they gritted their teeth and pulled each other around in a dangerous dance. A second later Raven kicked Terra in the face, throwing her down into the muddy mess. Terra sat up in the mud, covered in it, and yet her eyes only seemed to glow 

brighter. With the grace of a ballerina, she ascended on a tower of filth, and then tackled Raven into the murk.

At once the mud flattened, a single ripple gliding across its surface. Peace. Still. Silence, with their bodies tensed, ready to attack. Terra stood up first, reaching menacingly and pulling her enemy by the hair. Black energy exploded at her feet, throwing her off balance. The source followed right behind it, pushing Terra's head below the surface, breathing angrily. Raven's narrowed eyes watched a few bubbles blip on the surface of the muddy water, and they widened as they witnessed a large bubble burst, throwing the empath across the room.

The blonde stood up, breathing quite fine for seemingly drowning in the mud moments earlier. With a determined, cold, look on her face she shoved the mud away from her, forming a clean circle around her feet. As if pushed by a large, hot impact, the mud shot vertically, drying into small rocks, also flying toward the top of the room. Raven wouldn't be caught that easily. She glanced at one of the steel panels next to her, and encased them in dark energy. It broke off the wall, blocked the rocks, and dropped towards Terra. Not to be outdone, the blonde lifted her arms, and a tidal wave followed in her wake, solidifying into a wall to block the steel about to slice her in half.

Terra used the shattered remains of the wall, forming them into a gigantic fist. The fist flew toward Raven, forcing the empath to half it with her mind. Even then, she didn't allow her powers to rest. Black energy grew around the equipment on the ceiling, breaking it loose and sending it to the floor, directly above Terra's head. Looking up at it, the geomancer instinctively fled on a rocky ride. Raven's not-so-nice side couldn't help but smirk as the ensuing impact threw her enemy off her platform. She raised her hand, blocking the glare, and lowered her hand and her gaze as the scene cleared.

Smoke rose from the muddied floor, but the cause of all the mess had vanished. The empath looked around the room calmly, though inside she felt frantic. Faintly she heard mud gushing behind her, but assumed it came from the impact. Stars flew in her vision as something hard hit the back of her head with a loud _SMACK!_ With her eyes closed, and her consciousness fading, Raven fell. A moment later, breathing a little harder, Raven sat up shakily, glaring up at the blonde still on her pedestal.

Terra smirked. "You know, Raven, I never liked you."

Raven's gaze narrowed even more. "I never even wanted to _know you!" _Finally she had the strength to stand up, and thus she rose to meet the cold blue eyes. "You may have fooled the others, but I always knew you were a liar."

"Oh, really." She idly swept off mud from her arm with gold laced energy. "Is that why you let me live in your house and steal all your secrets and—"

"**SHUT UP!" **Raven's emotions surged into a muddy tidal wave that swept toward Terra, who parted it faster than an Old Testament prophet. Completely free of mud, the geomancer threw out three long whips of mud maneuvering around the shield. As if expecting the empath to easily counter her latest attack, she played with a floating mud ball with boredom.

She rode towards Raven, letting her new toy spin around her head. "You're not getting mad are you, Rae?" Her face darkened with mock concern as the ball stopped, hovering beside her face. "Oh, better be careful. Beastboy told me all about your _temper tantrums._" The ball morphed into a miniature of Raven's head, a startling likeness of anger.

"Anger is pointless. My emotions are under control." She watched the face sag horridly to Terra's will.

"Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh." She mimed with her hands, the caricature following her actions. "Anger is pointless." The mud face returned to a smooth ball. "And you're calling _me _a liar?" Terra laughed.

Raven fought the demon within her, fighting the urge to murder the traitor in cold blood. Just barely, she suppressed her dark side and moved toward Terra. Before she could end the fight, a muddy grip grabbed her by the ankle. It turned Raven and dropped her face-down into the murk. She lifted her head and telekinetically wiped the mud from her eyes in time to see Terra approaching _her. _The footsteps hardly made a noise as the newly hardened mud steps seemed to absorb the shock of her steel-toed boots. Terra nearly seemed to float down her staircase of mud stone, it falling to the ground behind her.

"Come on, Raven. What stings the most?" She opted for a mud ramp instead, drawing closer yet. "That I tricked you? That I nearly wiped out your team?" And then she arrived, kneeling in front of her, a breath away and stone looming over them. "That everyone liked me better than you?"

Raven felt her personal space vanish and her instincts threatening to take over. "Stop it!" She closed her eyes tightly.

"Or is it that deep down inside, you really believed I was your friend?"

Twice as many eyes opened, glowing dangerously red. Raven couldn't see anything but scarlet, and couldn't feel anything but the desire paint Terra a darker shade of it. A roar poured out of her lips as ebony energy poured out of her cloak, increasing her height by 200. Her voice growled much darker than usual. "I TRUSTED YOU!" Rocks cascaded down to her opponent, who 

quickly backed away in surprise. "_WE _TRUSTED YOU! WE GAVE YOU EVERTHING AND YOU TREATED _US _LIKE _DIRT!!_

Without thought, black energy weaved and twisted around the railing, forcing the metal rods to its whims. Obediently the rods snaked themselves around Terra's legs, but the traitor jumped clear and avoided the supercomputer summoned to kill her. Raven lunged for her, forcing her against the wall, and the blonde only breathed a little bit harder. Slade had trained her well, _too _well. Muddy arms reached out from the wall, strangling Raven with all ten fingers and pulling her into the growing ocean of mud, filling the warehouse room nearly to the brim.

Her vision blurred, and perhaps the lack of oxygen had taken its toll, but she thought she saw Terra's eyes widen in shock. A bit of hesitation seemed to linger on the blonde's face. Then her eyes narrowed and blonde hair slipped to cover the right side of her face. Raven couldn't help but be reminded of Slade.

As Raven slipped further into the makeshift quicksand, she watched as Terra sunk to her level on a boulder. She spoke quietly, almost as if the thought had barely crossed her mind. "Who's in control now?"

(End Flashback)

* * *

The ground creaked, cracked, and cackled, bright gold light radiating from the cracks, bright enough to shine in the hot desert sun. Terra walked across it as if she meant it to. Her school girl skirt and blouse and tie soon became covered in dirt, but the geomancer only seemed to grow more comfortable. Raven narrowed her eyes, watching as one of many spectators, folding her arms. She kept herself relaxed, and ready in case the traitor turned on them again.

Across the plain, the creature stood still, watching Terra with equal scrutiny. It stood taller, in anticipation. Terra's fists glowed brighter, and Raven could swear she felt the girl smile.

"Hey Morph!" She shouted over the roar of the wind and earth. "Remember me?"

* * *

Meh...sorry for being slow, _again. _I liked this chapter though, especially the first part. Review please!


	5. Beastboy

'Ello everyone. Hope everything's going okay with you. At the start of this chapter, I'm about to start another year of school, which hopefully won't make me any slower than I already am with updating. Please review when you're done reading this chapter, I love to hear your thoughts.

* * *

Teen Titans: Conspiracy Theory: Chapter 5: Beastboy

_North America: California, East of Jump City: Present day: 9:47 p.m._

The ground creaked, cracked, and cackled, bright gold light radiating from the cracks, bright enough to glow in the hot desert sun. Terra walked across it as if she meant it to look that way. Her school girl skirt and blouse and tie soon became covered in dirt, but the geomancer only seemed to grow more comfortable. Beastboy watched, his heart stretching and pulling with her every move. It reminded him of the moment he first saw her alive, but better. This time he knew for sure that his friend had returned.

Across the plain, the creature stood still, watching Terra with equal scrutiny. It stood taller, in anticipation. Terra's fists glowed brighter, and Beastboy's mouth hung open in anticipation.

"Hey Morph!" She shouted over the roar of the wind and earth. "Remember me?"

The thing she called Morph stood straighter, its head leaning forward as if to scrutinize her more closely. Terra apparently decided that she didn't like being looked down on, so she rose up on her stone platform, meeting Morph eye to eye. Her whole body glowed like the heat of a firecracker, reminding Beastboy of a fateful moment in their past…

~Flashback~

* * *

"You _have _to stop me, Beastboy! Please! I don't want to fight anymore!" Her eyes looked angry, but her voice sounded terrified.

Beastboy reverted to his elf-like human form, giving her a kind, but firm look. "Then don't let Slade control you anymore!"

**"**I have no choice." Terra looked away, her eyes staring down at the ground in guilt.

"That's a lie! You've always had a choice!" Beastboy shouted, with wounded anger edging his voice.

Terra's only replied by giving him a pleading look. The changeling could hear Slade's roar behind him, and shivered as the sound eerily echoed from Terra's mouth. His eyes shot wide as he saw hers glow in anger. Two pillars of dirt smacked Beastboy across the room before he could react. Smacked loudly against the wall, he crumpled to the dirt floor in a daze. Beastboy stood on too shaky feet once the room stopped spinning so fast.

"It's all been your choice!" He walked toward her, feeling more confidence and determination by the second. "You chose to work for Slade, chose to betray us, and now you've chosen to give him control! Slade isn't doing this Terra, _you _are!"

"No!" The floor around her boots sank into a sinkhole, the only ground left towering beneath her feet. Beastboy tumbled below before instinct took over and he soared about the destruction. He sought refuge beyond the crater, but Terra took care of that too. His adrenaline surged, and he morphed into a wolf, fleeing the mess like the hunted. With an anguished cry she crumbled the ceiling, nearly flattening him with his green fur. Dust enshrouded the room, hiding Terra from view. For a moment Beastboy stared at the settling dust numbly, watching it fall to the ground, and then the pain stabbed his leg. Barking loudly in pain, he tried to pull it from out of the rock, but found himself pinned.

Faintly…over the roar of the nerves screaming at him, Beastboy heard Terra gasp in horror. Part of his heart melted…the part that hadn't been hardened by her betrayal. The rush of hope…and perhaps something a little deeper—didn't last long. Slade's voice only made Beastboy stiffen more, though his body protested.

"Very good, my dear." The dust had completely cleared by now…leaving an eerie picture to capture. Slade stood a distance far enough away that Beastboy couldn't pounce him, even if the rock hadn't held him in place, but Slade stood close enough for his voice to send chills down the changeling's spine. Lifting his arm, Slade continued. "Now, shall we finish him off?"

Terra's eyes widened…and Beastboy could've sworn he saw tears brimming at the edge of her eyelids. She closed the distance between them haltingly…like she meant to do the robot but failed miserably. With panic overpowering his senses, Beastboy worked again to free his leg from the rock. His eyes met Terra's as she stopped beside him, her arm echoing Slade's.

"Terra! _No!" _

"He's too powerful!" Her voice trembled, though her face stayed frozen in a glare. Just as smoothly, her hand began to glow. "I can't stop him!"

"Yes you can! It's your power, not his!" Terra's hand moved in spite of his voice, the rock edging closer to his head, jagged and sharp. "You can still control it! You can still do the right thing."

Beastboy swore he could see her face soften…or at least her eyes. "It's too late."

Her hand stayed still while her whole body shook, and the rock hovered in place. Beastboy's vision of Terra blurred, his eyes focused on the rocky point edging closer to his nose. And then time seemed to slow down, making his gasp seem deeper and more rasped…until he heard Robin's voice.

"STOP!!" His leader shouted as he swung into view. Terra immediately focused on him, rather than Beastboy and the rock about to kill him.

Slade shouted his orders to Terra, and Beastboy sensed a bit of tension in his voice, if only imaginary. "Strike, apprentice! Now!"

Robin landed, and Beastboy could see Cyborg next to him, brandishing his sonic cannon. His leader called out louder. "Terra! No!"

Starfire flew in behind them, followed by Raven's shadow emerging from the darkness. "It'll be the last thing you'll ever do." The enchantress hissed, sending an involuntary shiver down Beastboy's spine. As he watched Terra, her eyes darted anxiously between each of the four cornering her, staring her down with their hard and firm eyes.

"I GAVE YOU AN ORDER!" Slade bellowed from behind them.

The geomancer's eyes widened of their own accord, and Beastboy swore the ground beneath him trembled with her tension. If the earth had a pulse, it definitely quickened just then.

"_DO IT!" _The cave seemed to rattle from the dynamics in his voice.

Starfire pleaded in protest. "Please Terra, no!"

Cyborg kept his cyber-kinetic arm steady, as if dealing with a gun and hostage situation. "Don't do it, don't do it!"

Terra wavered, stretched between two worlds, leaving Beastboy to watch with his own tension. Life and death could do that to a guy. He didn't even feel his leg anymore, just his pulse going so fast that it vibrated like a cell phone with an incoming text message.

"Listen to us, Terra." Robin pleaded firmly, his tone gradually matching Cyborg's. Beastboy blinked. _Was it really that bad?_

All the voices of the Titans collided into a noisy chorus and then died suddenly, leaving Terra and Beastboy to themselves. When he looked back on that moment, Beastboy realized he wouldn't have it any other way. His eyes never left hers "It's your life, Terra. Your choice. It's never too late to change."

Terra's eyes wavered, as if she fought tears. "Sorry Beastboy, for everything I've done.

Beastboy softened more as he watched her one more fateful moment. She screamed, the ground echoing her anger. Her fist swung his direction, but before he could swallow her fist slammed in Slade's direction. The changeling felt his muscles twitch as the mercenary lunged out of the rock's path. He almost made it, except for the reverberation on impact, which sent him sprawling. And then Terra charged, moving too fast for the Titans to react in time.

The ground yawned beneath Slade, forcing him to leap to the steel beams holding up the ceiling. Terra wouldn't let him go, though. She crumbled the earth that the beams had braced against, sending them to the ground. Cyborg took advantage of the distraction, freeing Beastboy from the pile of rocks. Still, the changeling couldn't shake the tension out of his limbs and he had to lean on his friend for support. His weary eyes fell upon Slade as Terra floated down toward him on a rock platform, gritting her teeth and her eyes flaring wildly.

"You ungrateful little—" Instead of ending that thought with a four letter word, Slade bore down on her will all his power. Terra wouldn't be intimidated though, and Beastboy could see the disgusted anger on her face. She literally held her ground, bringing it up into a tall tower beneath her, and then made a second for her former master, raising him faster than he intended. The geomancer continued her assault with small rocks, stoning Slade like a religious zealot to an adulterer. Beastboy's eyes widened when the rocks finally knocked Slade into the new canyon. Heaving, Terra caught her breath as the mercenary's scream died away.

Her shoulders heaved at a slower pace as her rock sank little by little to the edge of the cliff she made. Beastboy's jaw dropped in awe as steam, dust, and smoke formed a halo around her head. Time seemed to slow to a halt as the changeling held his breath in sync with hers……

Slade's fist tossed Terra across the cavern with inhuman strength. Before she could get up he lifted her up by her breastplate as one would grip someone's collar before punching them in the face. Beastboy's breath caught in his throat as he watched her head roll lifelessly to the side, but not for long. Terra's hair flared, glowing with a life of its own. Slowly her head followed…and then her eyelids, revealing fiery gold in the place of pupils.

"You can't control me _anymore!" _She shouted each word so evenly that they came out in separate packages. Beastboy gasped as her halo flared higher until it seemed to encase both her and her former master in a dark silhouette. The heat from it seemed to seep down the stone tower like melted wax….and then it all exploded. When the dust finally cleared, Beastboy saw Terra standing alone on a floating boulder, as if she had never moved and everything around her, including Slade did. Then she sank with a soft groan, and the cavern trembled as a surge of lava flared up behind Beastboy and his teammates.

"Terra's power! It's triggered a volcano!" Robin shouted as more lava shot out beside him.

Cyborg checked the screen on his arm, his eyes widening. "Big enough to take down the _whole city!" _He swallowed. "And way too big to stop!"

"We have to get out of here." Raven stated simply, blocking an explosion with her power.

Finally, their leader wordlessly ordered a retreat, but Beastboy lingered behind the others. "Terra!" The rock she kneeled on drifted toward him. "Come on! We gotta go!"

Terra didn't look up at him as he took her in his arms. "I have to stay." She resolved, swallowing.

More rocks fell down around them, and the lava threatened to melt the edges of the rock they stood on. Beastboy looked around, feeling the panic rising faster within him. "No!"

She glanced over her shoulder, faltering a little, but still as stubborn as ever. "I'm the only one who can stop it."

Beastboy's eyes widened, and he could feel the tears forming at the corner of his eyes. "Please, Terra, you can't! It's too late!"

Terra brushed the hair from her face, revealing a bit of innocence in both her eyes, that Beastboy had forgotten was there. A smile lingered on her lips, stifling some of the rising worry in his chest. "It's never too late."

He stared at her for a moment, and then his face fell a little when he realized exactly what she said. Beastboy barely felt her arms around him, but he remembered to hug back. The moment passed too quickly for him to be sure, but he thought that maybe he felt a few tears land on his shoulder.

"You were the best friend I ever had." She choked out barely, squeezing him a little.

Feeling the heat of more lava and magma behind him, Beastboy reluctantly let her go. With the same clinging sensations, she split the rock that held them together, and sent his half away. He watched her as long as he could, before tearing his eyes from her and looking back to where his friends had earlier. His last glimpse of her painted images of a romantic hero facing the darkness with one glowing sword, or in her case, her ethereal earthly halo as she fought the volcano. Cyborg's robotic hand grasped his shoulder and pulled him along with the others before he could have second thoughts.

* * *

_~End Flashback_

In unison, they stiffened, shifting their limbs for a fight. Morph lunged to her right, and Terra quickly leaned to her left as if she had been taught its fighting tactics like most kids learn their multiplication tables. Her hand followed the diagonal line of her body like a river following a river as she glowed just a bit brighter. Beastboy didn't see anything but the cringe of Morph's body and he didn't hear anything, but the screech of chalk on a chalk board. He found out later that Terra had manipulated the dust in the air, cruelly buffeting Morph's skin. But she had only used _that _as a distraction. As her opponent shrank backward in agony it backed up hard against an incoming boulder.

It seemed to feel the air shift behind him, and Morph bounced off the boulder as if he had expected it to be there. This observation didn't seem to worry Terra at all, and Beastboy could recognize from his vantage point her coy stance. She saw this as a fair challenge with a worthy opponent, finally free from the boredom of fighting someone too easy. His breath caught in his throat as he realized how familiar that stance was.

_~Flashback_

He soared abo

* * *

Above the city skyline, a lone owl in a city full of sleeping pigeons. Faintly he heard the sounds of angry drivers below in their cars, but this green owl didn't pay much attention to them. His mind had other things to worry about. Finding the building he looked for, the owl landed, morphing into a human as his feet hit the concrete of an observation deck. Seeing a stray feather out of the corner of his eye, Beastboy shooed it away as he faced his leader. "So…you're pretty much kicking yourself for not getting rid of that Red X suit when you had the chance, huh?"

Robin didn't say anything, though Beastboy could've sworn he stiffened up a little. Risking a glance at the view around him, he chuckled nervously. "Uh…forget I said anything."

This time, when he did respond, Robin didn't hesitate. "I couldn't destroy it. The Xenothium power core is too dangerous to dispose of. It was supposed to stay locked away."

Raven's form materialized through the roof of the building they stood on. She flipped back her hood solemnly. "No sign of Red X."

Starfire landed beside her. "Nor of Cyborg." Beastboy turned his head as he heard the concern in her voice. He felt the hairs on his arms prickling.

Robin picked up his communicator, staring at it with his mask furrowed. "Cyborg! Report!....Cyborg!" Finally, with no response from Cyborg, Robin closed the device and put it away. He walked past all of them, stopping just as tense as before, if not worse. "X must have attacked him. If Cyborg's hurt, it's my fault."

"Robin…" Starfire started to argue, but Robin stopped her short.

"I'm responsible, Starfire, for everything that's happened."

She came within reach of Robin, with concern in her eyes. "No Robin. The error you made, it is in the past. You are no longer the one inside that suit."

"And personally…." They jerked in the voices direction, stunned by his sudden appearance. "I think it looks _much _cooler on me." At the last word, he tossed a few X's their way.

Beastboy glanced in Robin's direction, to see the stretching of the Boy Wonder's mask. Uh oh. "Move!" Robin shouted quickly. Without hesitating they followed his command, swiping out of the path of the X's that clawed into ground when they landed. The changeling turned into a rhino, ready to barrel through Red X as Raven prepared to blast him with her magic. Before either of them could act, however, X whisked a large gooey X from his palms.

The X wrapped around Beastboy before he could change into a smaller target. As he quickly remembered, rhinos carry way too much momentum. He crashed right into Raven, who managed to get caught in the sticky red go and they went skidding to the edge of the roof and only Starfire stood in the way. Sparks flew from her boots as she worked to stop the humanoid/animal snowball about to fall _SPLAT _from one of Jump City's skyscrapers. She glanced at the drop below her and back up at her friends who couldn't do much but push her farther to certain death. Pinching her eyes shut with a high pitched grunt she heaved them back to safety.

Beastboy could hear Robin and X fighting, but not for very long. The Boy wonder cried out and the changeling strained to see him, but his own…green butt got in the way. And then…Raven started blowing on his tail...to get it out of her face. "And now I smell like rhino butt." Starfire gripped her hands underneath the giant X, and tried to pry them off each other, but to no avail. Raven and Beastboy snapped back together, and he morphed back into a person before he squashed Raven with his weight.

His eyes narrowed slightly, glowering as he asked Robin sarcastically "Dude! You think you gave this guy enough gadgets?

* * *

_~ End Flashback_

Time itself hesitated as Terra tipped her head to her shoulder curiously. Then Morph's skin began to change, from his shoulders down his chest and up his neck until all of him became solid rock. Terra smirked. Thunder cracked through the sky as her fist flashed gold…silver…and then white. Rain poured down from the sky as Morph started to tremble. Beastboy's eyes widened more despite their soreness from being forced open so long. Lightning struck the cliffs not too far away as Terra tore her hands away from each other with a feral scream. Morph's rock body shattered into thousands of pieces. The girl's scream died away as her body slumped down against the boulder she stood on.

Beastboy's heart slumped with Terra's body as he broke through the barricade and the surprised onlookers. He _had _to get to her, _now. _Closing the distance between them, Beastboy ignored the growing burning sensation in his chest. His feet stuck in the sticky mud, and he eventually decided to morph into a wolf to get across the flat plain that much faster. Narrowing his lupine eyes, Beastboy double checked Terra's location and then stopped in his tracks.

Huge black and white robots had tunneled out from the earth and surrounded his friend. They encased her in an energy cage before she could scream…and by then it was too late. The same energy that kept Terra from escaping also kept sound from leaving her temporary prison. Before Beastboy could stop them…the robots vanished in a cloud of dust.

"What was that?" Robin asked to no one in particular, shocked.

* * *

_Europe: Paris, France: Ruins of a former base: 2 Weeks Earlier: 9: 36 a.m._

They stepped among the rubble gingerly, though much of the debris had been cleared out hours before. Each carried a sense of peaceful aloofness, though most of them felt quite the opposite. An outsider could only discern the unease by looking at their clenched fists. With no wind to carry it, Red X's cape hung lifeless on his back, swaying without a rustle as he moved. Terra's boots on the other hand, scuffed noisily as she habitually dragged her feet across the checkered floor. Ms. Kane's high-heeled boots clicked punctually to completely their unintended symphony. They stopped abruptly, the silence drawing their gazes upward.

Ice glittered off shelf after gigantic shelf, holding nearly every villain known to mankind. Ms. Kane narrowed her eyes ruefully, knowing _exactly _who happened to be missing from this collection of frozen evildoers. Terra gaped; feeling overwhelmed though she knew the villains wouldn't wake up any time soon. X folded his arms, seemingly bored with the whole venture.

"What are we going to do with them?" The blonde whispered, her eyes still wide and focused on the living sculptures above their heads.

"They'll be worth a pretty penny to any government whose prison's ready to claim them." Ms. Kane replied idly, holding her PDA coldly. Her green eyes glided over the buttons on the touch screen as her stylus tapped it lightly.

"All of them?" Terra asked softly, her gaze darting to Red X for a second.

The thief merely glanced at her. He knew he shouldn't be here, but he didn't trust Ms. Kane enough to leave Terra alone with her. But really, why did he care? Did he even get a share of the reward money? X blinked, but the mask didn't show it to anyone. A few weeks ago X would've never imagined himself turning other criminals in. _You're on no one's team but your own, kid._

* * *

Melody: Well, there you go. The next update *hears groans* might take a bit longer, since I'm not sure entirely what direction I'll be taking this fic in. Any input is appreciated. If you leave a healthy review, I might be inclined to browse a fic or two of yours and review them too. I'm regularly updating my creative writing blog (all original works, no fanfiction due to some copy right laws) if you want to check it out between updates.


	6. X

Melody: 'Ello folks! You'll probably find this update later than the other ones, since I've been preparing for a mission trip to Italy. Welcome to a turning point in this story, where the scenes aren't just a bunch of flash backs from the show tied together by my imagination.

Thanks to the following readers for their input: badkidoh

Teen Titans: Conspiracy Theory: Chapter 6: X

* * *

_North America: Jump City, California, USA: Undisclosed Location: 1 Week Earlier: 9:18 p.m._

Dark warmth permeated the room, making it unbearable to anyone save one person. That person reclined slightly in a chair, with one leg balanced over the other. Only the light filtering down from the television screens revealed the outlines on his armor, not that anyone would come down here anyway. His butler made a point of avoiding him in times like these, knowing it best to leave his employer to his own thoughts and ends. In fact, Wintergreen only came into the room when summoned, and moments like those had drawn farther apart as of late.

Slade ignored the cup of tea on the stand next to him, his attention focused on the largest screen. He smirked underneath his mask, his mind already working through the ramifications of such an event. His single eye glanced up at the screen warmly, as if he saw an old friend for the first time in years. True, it had only been months, but such an amount of time spanned too long without her.

His haunting voice echoed in the near empty room. "It's been a while, hasn't it Terra?"

* * *

_North America: Jump City, California, USA: Titans Tower: Present Day: 8:17 p.m._

Moonlight washed over the water in glittering waves, the sound of them lapping the rocks lulling the bay to sleep. Like a young child, the city around the bay bounced into the night, ignoring any sort of curfew. A solitary tower watched the bay rest, and the city lights dance, its stance rather unchanged on the matter. Perhaps all would be well. Too absorbed in its own homeostasis, the Tower didn't seem to notice the shadow that fuzzed in and out of existence, drawing closer and closer to its front entrance.

Pressed against the wall, the thief threw a glance at the camera, hovering in its blind spot as he planned his next move. To most he might have seemed a bit impulsive, but Red X's choreographed every move in his mind at least a few moments before he acted on it. Adrenaline buzzed through his veins along with the xinothium ions that came with his suit. Each prick of his skin seemed alive, vibrating as the hair on his arms and legs stood on end. It had been a while since X had been to the Tower, and he quickly decided it had been too long. Messing with Chuckles the Boy Wonder was too entertaining to do without.

His belt beeped faintly, sending the sound directly to his ears, instead of the microphones on the security cameras. X smirked knowing the activity on the first couple floors of Titans Tower had died down to a lull, and that the Teen Titan's founding team would all probably be in the main floor for the night. He pressed a button on his belt, and buzzed through the wall just to the right of the door, directly to the blind spot of the nearest camera. Now inside, X only had to worry about sticking to the shadows, knowing the xinothium would overload the infrared sensors on security system. Sure, it gave off quite a bit of heat, but such anomalies had been common in the Tower ever since Starfire first flew inside.

A smirk flitted across his lips as he crept towards the elevator shaft, followed by a clenching pain in his stomach. _Augh…_he really didn't want to think about _her _right now, but just about anything, including another girl, filled his mind with thoughts of her blonde hair, her blue eyes, the sweet saltiness of her voice...her _everything_. X regretted ever slipping into the ranks of The Brotherhood of Evil in the first place. Ever since…swaying blonde hair and glimmering pooled eyes had followed his every thought. How in the world was he supposed to pull off a heist with distractions like these?

X stepped into the elevator, pushing Terra-centric thoughts from his mind….or at least shoving them aside for later. He phased right through the roof of the elevator car, making his way up the shaft. Already, his spirits rose with his body, and X quickly realized how badly he had needed this opportunity. Sure, it wasn't a pure heist, but playing almost-nice would be too fun to pass up. Phasing up to the appropriate floor, X latched onto the door with red goo and teleported into the hall. Glancing down, he smirked. _Good_, he thought, the belt still worked like a charm, bending the light wave frequencies around his suit, still making him less visible than infrared light.

He crouched in the shadows out of habit, and listened. Down the hall he could hear voices, speaking to each other in normal tones. X started to turn the mic up on his suit, then changed his mind and craned his ear. Knowing Robin, the thief might need to save power for later. Step by inching step, he moved toward the kitchen/living area to hear their conversation just a bit more clearly.

"I don't that's such a good idea, Beastboy." Robin's voice stated reluctantly.

"But we _have to_."

"We don't _have _to do anything." Raven quipped, clearly losing her patience.

"She's our friend." Starfire pleaded quietly, and X had to take a quieting breath when he saw her. Despite fresh distractions, she still managed to catch him by surprise. He had heard once that men's eyes always saw red first, and thus couldn't help but be drawn toward it. If that was the case, Red X would have to start wearing grayscale filters on his mask.

"She's still dangerous, and you know it." Cyborg interjected, with a skeptical glint in his good eye.

Beastboy's eyes had been slowly sinking to the floor, along with his head. Knowing that even with Starfire on his side, the rest still outnumbered them, not to mention the fact that Robin sided against him too, and he usually had the most say. Raven as usual, wanted nothing to do with Terra, and Cyborg had even started to lean away from her. If Beastboy wanted to help Terra, he would have to do it on his own. But how could he?

A cough interrupted the tension, snapping it like a taut rubber band. They looked to find X on the opposite side of the room from the hall, leaning against the counter casually, with his left foot braced on its tip while the other bore some of his weight. His cape hung ominously about his figure, as if to remind the Titans that they still knew next to nothing about him. Though Robin couldn't see it through the mask, he sensed a smirk on Red X's face.

"Hey kiddies. Miss me?" His invisible smirk widened as he saw Robin stiffen. Oh how he missed fun like this.

"What do you want, X?" Robin grumbled less than patiently.

Red X glanced to the kitchen counter, as if undecided, or bored. "It's not really what I want, Chuckles." He glanced back at them, his eyes narrowing playfully, along with the slits in his mask. "It's what you want."

Robin's face didn't seem to change at all, but the length of that stare betrayed the rolling of his eyes. X watched him stiffen just a little bit more, and then his eyes, not his head, moved to look at the other Titan's reactions. All of them, except maybe Raven looked a bit surprised, if not shocked to see him there. Did they honestly expect their security system to keep him out?

"What do you want?" He asked tersely, losing his patience.

Red X glanced about the room, his eyes settling on a newspaper sitting on the counter behind him. Normally, newspapers didn't interest him much (the cheap paper rattled too noisily), but the headline caught his eye. _**Infamous Geomancer Sighted at Jump's Edge**_. "So you heard."

Beastboy answered with a hopeful glint in his eye that made X question his motives. "We were there."

"Not soon enough, apparently."

* * *

_Undisclosed Location_: _Present Day_: _10:59 p.m. _

Everything throbbed. For a moment it seemed as if her eyes had been glued shut, they felt so heavy. At first she couldn't feel her arms, but her awareness of them came so suddenly it threw her brain against the back of her skull. Terra groaned weakly, realizing she had been chained arm and leg to a wall, her feet dangling heavily from the shackles.

Panic, as much as she could feel with this exhaustion, slid over her as she tried to remember how she ended up in an unfamiliar place. First it came back with a tinge of dust filtering the light spilling from the windows. Then it came back in a rush of awareness, painfully missing her earthen power. Terra swallowed the groan or the whimper, her brain felt too muddled to try and figure it out now. Her jaw rattled, as she bit her lips to hold it the shuddering breath.

_Slade. _

Terra could recognize those robots anywhere; the ones that had torn open the earth and brought her down with them. She couldn't remember much after that…just falling into darkness. Her eyes drifted aimlessly around the room, not finding much of informative value. Groaning with her mouth shut, she moved her wrists and ankles as much as she could, which didn't amount to much.

"Don't bother." A voice interrupted from across the room.

"Huh?" The geomancer asked, her eyes following the voice. She didn't see anything but a set of speakers. Figured.

"Not even your powers can break them, I'm afraid." The voice belonged to a woman, which ruled out Slade and most villains Terra knew.

"Who are you?" Terra swallowed slightly, feeling the sweat beginning to collect on the shackles around her wrists.

"Aw, Tara, don't you remember?" Her voice took a sickeningly sweet tone, which made Terra shudder.

"_You_." The word dropped from her mouth like a bite of a stale cookie.

She slipped out of hiding, with the limited light in the room catching her glasses. Terra swallowed, remembering how rarely she saw the woman's eyes, even in all those years they spent together in a government lab in a far-off world. The doctor's hair had gained several fresh grey hairs. Odd, for despite her gray hairs, the woman still had flawless skin.

Quirking one of her straight, thin eyebrows, the woman buttoned up her lab coat the same way a chemist would measure a solution with an eyedropper. "Of course it's me. Who else would it be?"

Surprisingly, Terra could imagine quite a few people that would want her chained up like this…or dead. Some of them good guys too. "What do you want, Jace?"

The woman's eyebrows wrinkled up, indicating that she narrowed had narrowed her eyes. "_Doctor _Jace."

"You still haven't answered my question."

Jace pressed her lips together glumly, and Terra could see a shadow of a smirk there.

"Revenge, child. Your accident ruined both your life _and _mine. I want it back."

Terra's eyes widened. "You know I can't help with _that!_ My father _hates _me."

The woman in the lab coat paced around the cell, pausing as she replied. "And he's been avoiding your existence all these years. I think it's time he's come to face the consequences of his actions, face to face."

Her voice rose, more frantic by the second. "But you can't! The court—"

"Will be in shambles, I know dear. And _that's _exactly my point."

With that Dr. Jace moved back across the room, her shoes clicking on the metallic floor. A precaution, Terra had found metal harder to work with than concrete. At least she could break the concrete apart with the packed dirt underneath. Her eyes drifted up in time to see the last silver of light disappear when Jace closed the door from the other side.

* * *

Melody: That's it for now. Italy was great, and I'm so glad the city next door has a gelato shop now. I think I've developed a small addiction.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think about my work, so review!


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